tales from the trolley man: the sailor and the knicker merchant
by carlaryconnory
Summary: "something just keeps pulling them back together"


_Prologue_

* * *

Twelve years I've been doing this job. Twelve. Collecting the abandoned trolleys from various areas of the car park and returning them to where they belong so the next customer can make use of them. It's seems like a boring job, right? A thankless job; but I still show up every morning at dawn, waiting for those trolleys to be cast off to the side as people rush to their cars and leave with the various items they have just purchased from the supermarket.

Most of the time the customers willingly return the trolleys themselves, making my job a little easier, but I eagerly await those in a constant state of hurry to leave the trolley aside so I can complete my repetitive duties. Walking across the car park, collecting the trolley and pushing it back to the trolley park so it can be slotted back in line with the others.

People aren't so different from trolleys, crazy as it may seem. We spend our lives waiting in line with the others until we are called to serve our purpose; whatever that purpose may be. Some people find themselves lost or abandoned while others are graciously returned to await their next task in life. Maybe all the years of doing this job has gone to my head but you can find similarities between any number of things if you look hard enough.

In a job like this you have to create your own excitement; something to keep things interesting whilst completing the same mindless tasks each and every day. Some of the others socialise with the customers while others keep themselves occupied by whistling or singing to themselves. Anything to keep the long days interesting.

I, however, take a different approach.

Some people might call me nosey, intrusive, a busybody... I've heard it all. But there's a lot to be learnt about the human race from simply listening. Every person has a different story, or tale if you must. Each branding their own scars from painful experiences or wearing a bright and luminous smile to reflect the joy in their lives.

I've witnessed many personal interactions between people. From pointless arguments to full scale fights; moments of passion to secrets shared between star crossed lovers.. I've even watched as one man knelt down and asked his companion to join him in spending the rest of their lives together. A car park seems an odd place for a romantic proposal but as it happens the somewhat strange venue didn't seem to matter within their story as the answer was of course, "Yes!".

I thought I'd seen it all until one very ordinary day a car pulled into one of the parking bays, just like they all did. It remained stationary for several moments and I made my way to the trolley park, awaiting the moment I could deliver one of the worn out trolleys to the customer for them to begin their journey around the supermarket.

I went about my business, gathering the vacant trolleys to return them to the others when I noticed a gentleman, slightly older than myself, standing beside the trolley park. He looked rather lost so as I pushed the trolleys back to their residence I approached him and began to speak. I was confused at first as he told me he was waiting for his son, still inside the car, but preferred not to go inside and instead stood out in the blistering cold, rubbing his hands together to keep himself warm.

He was a friendly fellow and had even spent years working in a job similar to mine. I had very rarely found myself talking with someone else that shared the same experiences in their working life and so I engaged in conversation with him, wanting to make sure that whilst he was stood outside awaiting his son he wouldn't be alone.

He spoke more of his son and their plans to journey to Southampton to pick up a boat but his trepidation was evident over whether or not this would be a huge mistake. It all seemed rather important and caught my attention immediately. I couldn't help myself and so I asked to hear more, if he was willing to share.

After twelve years I thought I had seen and heard it all. I had heard about the fights, the secrets, the passion between the ever fleeting strangers and this story is no different. This is a story about all of those things and much more, but above all else, this is a story about love.

This is a story about a sailor and a local knicker merchant.


End file.
